Forum Financial Management LP Purchases 205 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 14.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,655 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bowman & Co S.C. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 9,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,099,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 15.8% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,176,370.40. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,341 shares of company stock worth $1,438,707. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $184.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $157.89 and a 12 month high of $228.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $197.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 52.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. BTIG Research lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Bank of America increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.15.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.